The Moura Encantada de Salir did not appear, the poet António Aleixo did not mention any quatrains, but the charms of Loulé did not cease to be highlighted. A group of journalists and travel agents participated this Thursday, April 19, in another fam trip (familiarization trip), where the past and future of the largest municipality in the Algarve were made known, within the scope of the “Loulé Criativo” project.
The day started at Loulé City Hall, right in the city centre, where the delegation was received by Pedro Pimpão, vice-president of the municipality, and Desidério Silva, president of the Algarve Tourism Region (RTA), the entity that promoted the initiative, in which the Sul Informação participated.
And if the premise of these fam trips is “Rediscovering the Secrets of the Algarve”, that's what happened all morning.
After visiting the Municipal Market, ex-libris from the city and where there were many tourists enchanted with the Algarve products, and the sculpture representing António Aleixo, seated at the entrance to the Calcinha café, the group had the opportunity to get to know some of the “Loulé Criativo” projects.
71-year-old woman Margarida Cortez works at Casa da Empreita, in the Historic Center of Loulé. The purpose of that space is to recover such a traditional craft in the municipality.
While I was working the palm, Ms. Margarida commented: «this is a distraction we have and we don't let tradition fall by the wayside». With the septuagenarian, there are, at the moment, six people learning the art of the enterprise.
From there to the boiler shop, on Rua da Barbacã, it's a step away. This is also a profession with a great history in the municipality of Loulé. Master Analide Carmo is the one who is to commands This workshop, which receives many visits from foreigners interested in seeing (and understanding!) how a typical Algarve cataplana is made. And there, remember, a giant cataplana was even made for a hotel…
Before lunch, we also visited the Frutos Secos museum, as well as the Loulé Museum, which is understaffed due to the sale of pieces to the exhibition “Loulé: Territories. Memoirs. Identities”, on display at the National Archeology Museum, in Lisbon.
After a meal at Tasquinha do Lagar, in Querença, with lamb stew on the menu, the afternoon was spent in the interior of the municipality of Loulé. In Salir, the museum center of that village was visited and the legend of the Moura Encantada was heard, which, it is said, still appears in rougher days...
The long journey continued with a visit to Quinta da Tôr, born in 2013 and whose wine production is close to 100 bottles per year. The projects involve expanding the winery further in the near future.
At the end, the wine was tasted and there was a toast to Loulé.
Photos: Fabiana Saboya | Sul Informação
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